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I'll take a wild shot at this.  UTM is becoming very popluar.  Its quicker and easier(for me anyway) to figure a precise plot with it.

FWIW I've got both DD.MM.SS and UTM on all my quad maps that I have printed.

The real answer is gonna have to come from the rescue folks in the area you are going to.  IE if I was going to Alaska I'd find their SAR and call and ask.  If its a military base as it often can be, you can get their data also.

If I understand this correct, even if your map is printed off NAD27, and you have your GPS set to UTM, the GPS will give your correct position per UTM.

In the end the differences are pretty small between the given settings in a SAR situation.  Get them within half a mile with coordinates and they'll find ya!!  Sometimes when we used to survey we'd use GPS to find USGS markers for reference.  Sometimes our boss didn't know what setting to use and sometimes we were off a bit but we always found the markers(which are  damn hard to find at times)

Thats my thoughts and worth what ya paid to read em.

Message Thread:

• specific details on GPS EricL Jul 31 2005
  • The word from SAR experts- WGS84! Michael Strahan Aug 04 2005
  • Here is a great way to build confidence sapperski Aug 03 2005
  • SAR familiar w/most coordinate systems? Alex_Cena Aug 02 2005
  • NAD 27/ WGS86 Rutting Moose Jul 31 2005
    • Datums rost495 Aug 01 2005
      • A Call to the SAR folks Michael Strahan Aug 01 2005
  • GPS for Emergencies Michael Strahan Jul 31 2005
    • Datum for GPS John S Jul 31 2005
      • Villages Daveinthebush Jul 31 2005